Category Libraries

An extra £22,000 a year to help support communities to run library buildings, and a commitment to retain nineteen Somerset County Council libraries was approved today. Somerset County Council’s Cabinet made the final decision on how libraries services will be delivered across Somerset in future agreeing nineteen library buildings will be retained by the County […]

The Somerset Libraries redesign report published earlier this week recommends Somerset County Council continues to run a library building in Shepton Mallet, but its exact location is still to be decided. The existing library building provides limited opportunities to improve the current library service (for example, increasing opening hours) and doesn’t represent good value for […]

Somerset Libraries are launching a new community initiative aimed at tackling ‘Period Poverty’ to mark National Libraries Week (8th October 2018) which this year celebrates health and wellbeing. ‘The Tricky Period’ will run on a trial basis and offer free sanitary products to young women in the County who would not otherwise be able to […]

Virtual tours of the public space in every Somerset library are now available to view online. The virtual tours were put together as a way of testing a recently acquired 360° camera, which will soon be available to use in the Glass Box, an innovation and enterprise space in Taunton Library. Councillor David Hall, Somerset […]

Students from three Taunton secondary schools have been getting animated at Taunton Library’s Glass Box. The children from Bishop Fox’s, Castle and Courtfields schools took part in an afternoon of animation and film-making delivered by Somerset Film as part of the Somerset Digital Skills Academy programme. The Glass Box aims to give schools, colleges, businesses […]

All Somerset’s libraries are inviting children to become Mischief Makers in this year’s Summer Reading Challenge, celebrating the 80th anniversary of The Beano. Starting in Somerset libraries from tomorrow (Saturday 14 July), all children have to do is visit their local library and sign up to read six books throughout the summer. As they read each […]

Over 7,000 Somerset residents and organisations took part in a 19-week library service redesign consultation, Somerset County Council’s Scrutiny Committee heard today. A presentation on the top-level consultation results was delivered to Scrutiny Committee Members showing that 7,015 responses were in total received from a wide section of communities across Somerset. Survey respondents were asked […]

Only days are left for residents to have their say on the future delivery of library services across Somerset. Somerset County Council launched a consultation on how they propose to deliver library services across the County going forward back in January. Thousands have had their say, but with the consultation due to end next Wednesday […]

Volunteers are needed to pass along their love of reading to children and young people during this year’s ‘Mischief Maker’s’ Summer Reading Challenge taking place across all Somerset Libraries. Last year over 7,700 Somerset children and young people took part in the Challenge, which encourages them to read at least six books over the summer […]

Anyone with an interest in Somerset’s libraries has one more month to take part in the County Council’s consultation on the future of its Library Service. The consultation ends on Wednesday, 13 June and more than 4,000 responses have been received so far. Somerset County Council is keen for anyone yet to complete the questionnaire […]